Tauba Auerbach on Book Fairs, Knitwear and the Grateful Dead

The San Francisco-born, New York-based artist Tauba Auerbach is about to have a London moment. Opening this weekend is “Tetractys – Art of the Fugue,” a ballet at the Royal Opera House for which she created the backdrops and costume designs. Soon to follow will be The New Ambidextrous Universe, a major exhibition in the spring at the city’s Institute of Contemporary Arts. (Auerbach’s work can also currently be seen at the University of Chicago and the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston.)

Reminiscent of the 1960s Op Art movement, especially the British painter Bridget Riley, Auerbach’s hypnotic paintings, sculptures, books and prints reflect abstraction, Minimalism and even Pop, with a meticulous attention to craft. She creates bright, vivid color-fields through complex patterning, making sophisticated pieces that feel enticingly simple. Here she details some of the influences and inspirations that shape her own work.

Correction: February 10, 2014In an earlier version of this post, the title of the new ballet at the Royal Opera House in London was incomplete. It is "Tetractys - Art of the Fugue," not "Art of the Fugue."